Everything Donald Trump has pledged to change on Day 1

Donald Trump has pledged that his presidency will bring a “Golden Age” to the country and enact changes to U.S. policy to bring that era into fruition, starting on “Day 1.”

Karoline Leavitt, a spokeswoman for the Trump-Vance transition team, told Newsweek: “The American people can bank on President Trump using his executive power on day one to deliver on the promises he made to them on the campaign trail.”

Some of these changes promised throughout the campaign and since becoming president-elect, such as firing special counsel Jack Smith, are possible on Day 1. Reimplementing his “remain in Mexico” policy for migrants will likely take longer, given that it requires negotiations with Mexico.

Mass Deportations of Undocumented Migrants

Trump has said a foundational pledge of his campaign, mass deportations, will be enacted on the first day of his presidency.

Leavitt told Newsweek: “On day one, President Trump will marshal every lever of power to secure the border, protect their communities, and launch the largest mass deportation operation of illegal immigrant criminals in history.”

Trump also stated that he plans to enact deportations using the U.S. military, a move that the ACLU has said “will change the very nature of American life for tens of millions of Americans.”

Mass deportation for all undocumented migrants is not popular among most Americans.

While respondents to a Data for Progress poll said that they do support deporting people who arrived recently without documents and deporting criminals, they do not want to see mass deportations for undocumented migrants who were brought to the U.S. as children, who have lived in the U.S. for over 10 years and run a small business, who are in the U.S. under a Temporary Protected Status visa, or who are awaiting their asylum application approval.

Israeli Hostages

Trump has said he will change the current state of the war in Gaza by promising a return of the Israeli hostages currently being held there on the first day of his presidency.

He posted to Truth Social on December 2, “Please let this TRUTH serve to represent that if the hostages are not released prior to January 20, 2025, the date that I proudly assume Office as President of the United States, there will be ALL HELL TO PAY in the Middle East.”

Hamas has responded to the threat of “hell to pay” by telling Newsweek that they believe Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to be the person responsible for slowing down a ceasefire. They said they are open to a deal that includes returning hostages in exchange for a ceasefire.

Mexico Wall & ‘Remain in Mexico’

Trump’s allies are motivated to start rebuilding the wall between the United States and Mexico on “Day 1.”

Speaking with Newsweek in November, Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville said, “Americans delivered a clear mandate last Tuesday—they want President Trump’s America First agenda, and they want it now. My top priority is working with President Trump on Day One to build the wall, reinstate Remain in Mexico, and deport those who never should have been admitted in the first place.”

In September, Trump said at a campaign rally: “On day one of my new administration, I will stop all migrant flights. I will shut down all entries through the migrant phone app. I will end catch-and-release. I will restore Remain in Mexico…we will seal the border.”

However, Senator Ted Cruz recently spoke with Newsweek about how the “remain in Mexico” policy will be difficult to enact on Day 1.

“We’ll probably take a little bit of time to reinstate [the policy] because you have to negotiate that with the government of Mexico, but I believe they will do that as well, and we will see the numbers plummet,” Cruz said.

Newsweek reached out to the Trump transition team via email for comment.

End His Criminal Convictions

One of Trump’s personal policy promises is to end the convictions and criminal cases against him.

He has said he will fire special counsel Jack Smith “within 2 seconds” of becoming president, putting an end to Smith’s investigations into Trump’s charges of mishandling documents and attempting to overthrow the 2020 election.

Despite facing an impending firing, Smith has said he will release his report to the public before Trump’s inauguration on January 20.

Pardoning January 6 Rioters

As well as pardoning himself, Trump plans on pardoning everyone locked up for rioting at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.

Trump called the rioters “unbelievable patriots” at a campaign rally in March and promised that he would work to pardon them from federal prison “the first day we get into office.”

“I can’t say for every single one because a couple of them probably, they got out of control,” Trump said.

“Drill, Drill, Drill”

Trump said that on Day 1, he plans to expand oil drilling in the U.S.

“I want to close the border, and I want to drill, drill, drill,” Trump told Fox News‘ Sean Hannity during a town hall event in December 2023.

Shortly after Trump’s November presidential election victory, Leavitt told Fox News that the president-elect’s Day 1 agenda includes “expediting permits for nuclear, for fossil fuels, for an above-all energy approach that’s going to bring down the cost of living in this country.”

Trump has also vowed to re-open the Keystone XL pipeline, which has been shut down since 2022.

Trump Tariffs and Other Policies

Spokespeople for the president-elect have also said that he plans on settling the war between Russia and Ukraine, removing protections for transgender students, and imposing tariffs on goods, especially from China, on his first day in office.

Do you have a story we should be covering? Do you have any questions about this article? Contact  LiveNews@newsweek.com